Bullies and Tornadoes
by amberleigh90
Summary: In which Rory goes through getting his shoes stolen, a thunderstorm, meeting Harmony and a tornado. Welcome to Lima, Ohio, Irish.


Well, here's my first ever Rormony piece.

Just let me know what you think, huh?

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><p>His socked feet slapped against the cold, damp concrete. Since the jocks had taken his shoes, <em>yet again<em>he'd no choice but to walk in his socks. He hadn't the slightest idea where he was going. All he knew about Lima, Ohio was that there wasn't even a Starbucks - just some dingy coffee shop at which the kids from the Glee club hung out. But he didn't even know how to get there.

All he knew was that the darkness was looming in as the Ohio sun was going down and if he didn't get to the Pierce's house before it got dark, he was sure he'd never make it back in one piece. That thought alone was enough to make him kick in into high gear and rush towards the gas station he'd just seen.

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><p>She sat on the stool behind the counter, silently going over her song choice for her NYADA application video. Had she been too bold picking a song that had nothing to do with the performing arts? 'No!' She thought as she shook the silly notion from her brain.<p>

She looked around the small store and silently groaned. She had no idea how she'd even ended up in this dingy town. One day she'd been living with her parents and her older brother in upstate New York and the next, they were all in a moving van, headed for Ohio.

The tinkling of a bell on the door alerted her that she was no longer alone. Assuming it was one of the regular truck drivers coming in for a potty break and a cup of coffee, she went back to picking at her well manicured nails. It wasn't until she heard the clearing of a throat that she looked up into what could possibly be the bluest eyes she'd ever seen.

"Oh! I haven't seen you in here before. What can I do for you?" She was sure he was by far the best looking guy in Lima…and she would know...she'd already been through about 15 in the past year.

"I am so lost." She couldn't help but giggle at his appearance. The - yellow and green short sleeved button down mixed with the dark wash jeans and a chain on his wallet to round it all out - look had her stifling a chuckle. It was the one thing, other than his thick (amazing!) accent that gave him away.

"Not from around these parts, huh?" She tucked a strand of dark hair behind her ear and flirtatiously leaned forward.

"Not really. Me name's Rory Flanagan." His arm stretched out over the counter, his hand extended towards her. She gently placed her hand in his and swore she felt a spark.

Recoiling just as fast as he, she placed her hands back in her lap, "Harmony Mitchell. So, Rory...that accent Irish?"

"Right you are, Ms. Mitchell. First person in Lima to get it right, actually. So, like I said, I'm lost. You wouldn't happen to know how to get to that coffee shop, would you?" She hopped off of her stool and rounded the corner, only to stop in her tracks when she saw his feet.

"Uh, Rory?"

"Hmm?"

"What happened to your shoes?"

Letting out a sigh, he looked down at his soaked, socked feet before explaining. "Some 'puck head' as Finn Hudson called him, took them. Right before slamming me into a locker and yelling at me to go back to Mexico."

Harmony nodded her understanding before looking back up at him...and boy did she have to look up. "So that must mean you go to McKinley?"

"How'd you know?" How he was able to make small talk with someone he'd just met was beyond him, but he wasn't going to question it.

"It's the only school around here that someone could get away with doing that and not get in trouble." The crack of thunder had them both jumping. "Looks like an Ohio storm is rolling in. You might want to wait it out here, seeing as you have no shoes and don't really have any idea where you're going." Just as she finished talking, another crack of thunder followed by some very bright lighting ripped through the dark, gloomy sky.

"Ay, that sounds like a good idea." His voice had risen an octave, and that had Harmony wondering if he was afraid of storms.

Just as Rory was opening his mouth to speak, the lights flickered and then shut off. Harmony groaned, "Have I mentioned how much I hate Ohio?" Speaking more to herself, she hadn't expected Rory to respond.

"You aren't the only one." His voice was mumbled, she noticed. Looking back towards him, she noticed his head resting in his large, attractive, hands. His shoulders were slumped, and his breathing was deep.

"Rory, are you okay?" She walked over to him, and placed a small hand on his shaking back.

He looked back up, blue eyes meeting blue eyes, "No, not really. I've always had this irrational fear of storms, and the power going out just made it that much worse, you know?"

"It's not irrational. A phobia about peanut butter, that's irrational." Trying to make light out of the situation, Harmony gave him a swift pat on the back before walking towards the glass doors.

He tried to argue with her once he noticed what she was doing, but she was a strong willed girl. He'd tried to tell her that the wind was picking up, she'd give him that.

Once the wind had grabbed a hold of the door, it wasn't letting go. Opening and hitting the window with a loud crash, the glass shattered, leaving them exposed to the elements. The rain was pounding in on her, and before she knew what was happening, Rory was outside with her, pulling her back in.

"Is there somewhere in here we can go that doesn't have an exterior wall?" The roaring of the wind and pelting of the rain against her face made it difficult for her to hear him.

"Yeah," she could feel herself having to yell at him, "There's a cooler in the back. With the power out, it won't be near as cold." He pulled her back in by the waist, pushing her to lead the way.

Rory had managed to grab some blankets and jackets off of the shelves before Harmony had pulled him into the icy cooler. She'd remember to thank him later for not letting them freeze to death.

"This is madness." Just as Harmony closed the large metal door, she'd heard Rory mumble from behind her. She turned, only to be greeted by him on the ground, nursing his right foot.

"What did you do?" Her eyes full of panic, she knelt down next to him.

"Eh, it's nothing. The door just caught the top of my foot when we were walking in." She peeled his hands away from his injured foot, carefully pulling off his green converse in the process.

"Harm! I'm fine. We kinda have to worry about surviving right now." She looked up into his eyes and found herself being lost in their deep blue depths.

"Okay." He'd barely heard her whisper over the roaring of the wind.

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><p>Harmony was wrapped in three blankets and left the jackets to Rory. Unfortunately for her, the blankets weren't keeping her as warm as she'd hoped.<p>

"So Harm, how'd you end up in Lima?" She looked over to Rory and noticed him shiver uncontrollably, breathing into his cupped hands, trying to get some warmth back into them.

"Dad got transferred. That's all there is to tell. One minute I was in NYC and the next, we were moving all our crap into this new house." Unconsciously scooting closer to him, she found herself wondering about his journey to Ohio.

"How'd you end up here? Of all the places to go, why Ohio?" His arms snaked around her small frame, pulling her body into his.

"It was a last minute thing. It took me so long to convince me mammy to let me do the exchange program and by the time I'd talked her into it, Lima was the only place left to go. So…here I am." She pulled the blankets over the both of them, leaning into his warm chest.

He couldn't believe that he was holding such a beautiful girl in his arm in the midst of a tornado. "Harm?"

"Hmm?" Her eyes were fluttering closed, her body soaking in his warmth.

"I think it might be over? Hear that? Sirens?"

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><p>"Rory, wait!" Harmony had all but skipped over to where he was being pulled away by a frantic Mrs. Pierce and a confused Brittany. He'd turned around not expecting her to fully jump into his arms. He stumbled, biting back the pain of what he was sure to be, at the very least, fractured bones in his foot.<p>

"Thank you. I don't know what I would've done without you." Her warm breath on his chilled ears had him slivering slightly. She pulled back and pressed her red lips tightly to his cheek.

"Ay, it's my pleasure Miss Mitchell." His voice had dropped, it was quiet and deep. Blue eyes met blue eyes and Harmony stood on her tippy toes, pressing her lips to Rory's, hard. He inhaled quickly through his nose, still not really believing that he was kissing her.

As fast as the kiss had happened, it ended. Harmony pulled away from him, breathless as she fumbled with something in her purse. She gave him a small, sad smile as she pulled out a tube of red lipstick. She mouthed 'sorry' as she pulled off the cap and grabbed his wrist.

He noticed she was heading towards his arm with the tube and quirked an eyebrow at her.

"I figure the least I can do is give you my number." Scribbling her number on his arm quickly, she placed another chaste kiss on his lips before turning on her heels and making her way back over towards her parents.

"I think I'm going to like Lima, Ohio after all."


End file.
